Endless Debt

"It's a very complex psychology, um... like people who are suicidal."

The devil stood in front of the stone slab, his eyes full of nostalgia, as if it was like a diary, recalling the past that was about to be forgotten by the devil.

"They do want to commit suicide, and they do hope that someone can save them and escape from the painful sinking."

The devil commented, "The same is true for the birth of this stone slab. On the one hand, we want to completely erase the past, and on the other hand, we leave it as a testimony to prove that our distant past is not false, but It is true."

He admired, "I thought if I threw it deep into the secret source, no one would find it again."

"What happened in the past?"

Hill had understood many things at this time, and had a rough guess about the origin of the devils.

"I guess it's about how you became devils?"

The devil laughed twice, his voice harsh. He did not answer Hill's question, but asked him, "What did you discern from this stone slab?"

Hill walked to the stone slab and admired the carvings of the stone slab with the devil. Among the faded and clumsy colored marks, he could see vague outlines, as rough as a child's graffiti.

"An extraterrestrial visitor."

Hill said, "On a distant date in the past, an extraterrestrial visitor descended on the material world."

"Then what?"

"He is like a beacon. When he brings the ether, he also makes the huge ether world notice the material world. For thousands of years, the ether world has been slowly approaching the material world. Therefore, the ether concentration continue rising."

"You are very smart, but I don't remember that there is such detailed content in this tablet." said the devil.

Hill said calmly, "Not only the content of the slate, but also some of my personal speculations."

"Very well, continue."

"The visitor from outer space not only brought the ether, he also brought other things, the shadows and tar that I had seen in the ether realm."

Hill told his analysis, "I always thought that tar and ether were symbiotic, but after a period of research, I found that the two are more like independent existences."

"What exists in the etheric realm is pure ether, and the tar is just like the etheric realm to the material realm. Tar is also a foreign object to the etheric realm. They invade and pollute the etheric realm, and try to completely engulf the power of the etheric realm. occupy."

Hill moved his gaze to the devil. He and the devil were already old friends. A long time ago, Hill discovered that the devils also carried that kind of evil tar.

"That tar is a kind of power, an evil and grotesque force. The alien visitor not only brought the ether, but also brought the tar to the material world."

"What happens next?" asked the devil.

"What happened after that is as recorded on the stone tablet."

Hill looked at the vague patterns on the stone slab. The rough marks outlined an existence without a specific form. Under Hill's gaze, the vague patterns moved...

Like a ball of ink dripping into water, it spreads, gathers, and twists irregularly. As it changes, Hill can also feel the complex emotions coming from it.

Hill could use this stone slab as a medium to transcend time and space and feel the pain and weakness of the alien visitor.

In an instant, huge pain captured Hill, and his body was screaming uncontrollably. Every cell and muscle was trembling, as if a huge force was tearing Hill's body from the inside. Until he was easily torn into pieces like fragile paper.

"Ha ha……"

Hill escaped from the extreme feeling. His eyes widened and his chest heaved violently.

The devil watched the joke and waited patiently. After several minutes, Hill recovered and his bent back straightened up again.

"The alien is injured, and he is about to die."

Hill said and looked at the devil, trying to get some information from the changes in the other person's eyes.

"He came to the material world from a very far away place. I don't know what his purpose or intention was. In short, he was already dying as soon as he arrived in the material world."

Hill is an extremely rational guy, and he has almost no so-called emotional control. But at this moment, Hill's firm mind still trembled.

He couldn't imagine where the extraterrestrial visitor came from. If the extraterrestrial visitor brought ether and tar, then his power completely surpassed mankind's existing alchemical matrix technology, and his own energy level far exceeded that of the Glorious One and the Sufferer. Crowned One, that is completely beyond the limit of power that humans can understand...

In other words, today's human alchemy matrix technology, the source of power of the devils, and the essence of all power in the world, all originated from this extraterrestrial visitor.

From his rotting and stinking corpse.

Then Hill realized another, more desperate possibility.

Who killed the alien?

"We have also speculated that the alien visitor was actually dead before he came to the material world. He just held a breath and moved forward in the vast void, looking for a possibility of life... But he still failed. Finally fell into this world.”

Hill was keenly aware of some problems and pointed to another picture on the slate.

Under the irregular, squirming unknown form, several humans surrounded him and knelt down to him, as if they were worshiping him as some kind of god.

By this time, the answer has become clear.

"After the extraterrestrial visitor came to the material world, before his death, he reached some kind of agreement with the first humans who came into contact with him."

Hill's voice became deeper, and a violent emotion filled his mind. For this reason, he even clenched his fists, wishing he could punch the devil's beautiful face now.

"He gave his power to these people, and these people became the original devils."

Hill looked directly into the devil's eyes and said word by word, "Am I right?"

The devil just smiled. He neither affirmed nor denied.

"Transactions are of equal value. Whatever you gain, you must lose something," Hill continued to ask the devil, "You gained power, so what did you lose?"

A terrible suspicion brewed in Hill's mind, and he couldn't help but ask.

"Are the aliens really dead?"

The devil still didn't answer. He stayed away from the stone slab and sat on a chair nearby. He sometimes fiddled with his cane and sometimes looked at Hill, wondering what he was thinking.

The eerie silence remained for a long time, until the devil took the initiative to break the peace.

"To be honest, we don't know much about extraterrestrial visitors. I have made many guesses about his origins. In the end, I came to this conclusion."

"What?"

"He is a sinner, and I don't know what crime he committed."

The devil showed a hateful smile, and then he continued, "Don't you think that the material world we live in is like a prison? A barren land that does not possess any extraordinary power."

Hill realized that the devil actively recognized the ether as foreign energy.

"A visitor from outside is like a sinner. He was exiled here from the world he originally belonged to. He is seriously injured and is about to die in this desolate place."

Suddenly, Hill understood many things, but this time, he was no longer surprised by the mystery, but felt desperate because of the increasingly dark future.

This is not the first time that Hill has foreseen a dark future, but every time he cheers up, feeling that humanity still has a chance of winning, and that there is still hope.

But this time, Hill began to doubt himself. His self-confidence was shattered, and he no longer believed that human beings could survive the catastrophe.

"Haha, I like your reaction, Hill. It's really a wonderful feeling to watch humans fall into despair."

The devil crossed his legs and put his hands on his knees, as if he was enjoying a beautiful afternoon.

Hill murmured, "You are also miserable slaves and debtors burdened with debts."

He seemed to have woken up.

"Is this the reason why you keep robbing souls?"

The devil's laughter became even more harsh, like a thousand dead souls wailing. The figure squirmed violently, and his pale skin was covered with cracks. The next moment he collapsed on the chair and turned into wisps of black smoke. Disappeared in place.

In the silent world, only Hill and the heavy stone slab were left looking at each other.

"I...what should I do?"

Hill sighed feebly and tangled his hair with both hands, almost prying his head open and pulling out the soft brain tissue.

Countless ideas collided in Hill's mind, and each conjecture was overturned after being established. The plan was constantly optimized and corrected, but a perfect result could never be achieved.

He was exhausted, his eyes were bloodshot, and when he was on the verge of collapse, Hill quickly walked to the stone slab.

Hill didn't know who left this stone slab, but since it witnessed that sinful history, the recorder must also be the one who originally made the deal with the aliens.

Why did he leave this record? Was it to tell others who came after him?

So...who is he and which devil is he?

Hill was extremely anxious. If his identity could be confirmed, it would mean that there was another devil among the devils who might be willing to cooperate with humans.

He carefully observed the stone slabs, but could not find any clues until he accidentally glanced and saw the people kneeling around the visitors from outside... One of them did not kneel down.

It was as if someone wanted to hide his presence deliberately. If Hill hadn't studied it carefully, no one would be able to identify this shallow figure.

Hill murmured, "Could it be you?"

Immediately afterwards, Hill discovered another problem. After getting enough information from the devil's mouth, Hill used his existing knowledge to decipher the content. He found that this figure was extra.

The seven people kneeling represent the seven devils that disturb the world, and the one who is deliberately hidden is the eighth.

Not just seven people made deals with the devil, but an eighth.

who is he?

Calmness came again, and when the silence reached its limit, Hill fell heavily to the ground, spreading his limbs vigorously, as if rolling in the snow.

Hill laughed inexplicably. He laughed so loudly that he seemed to spit out his internal organs.

"I know who he is."

Hill was ecstatic, and despite being frightened, tranquility took over all of his heart. He asked again, "Have you guessed it?"

"Hmm...I thought about it too."

In the void, Bologo gradually appeared.

Bologg knew that everything in front of him was Hill's memory and a fact that had already happened, but for some reason, Bologg actually transcended time and space at this moment and had a connection with Hill to a certain extent.

"Is that so?"

Boluogo slowly raised his hand, and with the output of ether, complicated ether patterns shone on his skin.

"Energy is conserved," Bologo said. "Whatever you gain, you must lose something."

"We consume the ether through the alchemical matrix, thereby obtaining the miraculous power to distort reality."

Hill looked at the dark dome and sighed, "Isn't this a kind of transaction?"

For a moment, Boluoge felt that his breathing was a little difficult, not because of excessive fear, but because of joy from the bottom of his heart.

It was an ecstasy that Bologna had never experienced before, and a sense of shock that was touched by the grand narrative.

Boluogo said quietly, "The alchemical matrix is ​​a kind of blood contract. All humans implanted with the alchemical matrix are his debtors. As long as they consume ether, they can make a wish to him and gain the power to distort reality."

What a great design.

The palace of memory began to collapse. The cracks were filled with bricks and stones, and blazing white flames overflowed from the cracks. The front wall collapsed, and the dazzling daylight was exposed. Boluogo turned around and saw the core of the daylight. , a human silhouette cast by pure light.

"You are the eighth devil."

Boluogo whispered to the glorious figure, "You did not bear the original sin, but chose virtue and dedicated your life for all mankind."

Hill was surprised and delighted. Time and space seemed to have really been connected at this moment. He continued what Boluogo said.

"You made a deal with all mankind, allowing mankind to gain the power to fight against the devil. The price is that the soul of the sublimation person returns to the secret source after death... and continues to fight against the devil."

Hill stood up and staggered towards the endless light source. He opened his hands excitedly and asked loudly.

"Tell me, O Exalted One, tell me what I must do!"

There was a hazy sound coming from the secret source. It was almost like a dream-like sentence, which was difficult to distinguish.

The eighth person dedicated himself and turned himself into an extraordinary server that serves all mankind. Every minute and second, he is dealing with the "wishes" from the Sublime Ones that distort reality.

The endless flow of information washed away like a flood. After thousands of years of hard work, the eighth person had long lost his self-awareness, leaving only the "inertia of dedication" to maintain the operation of the secret source.

No one knows how hard the eighth person worked to find a moment of leisure in this huge and heavy thought, allowing him to make a difficult and active decision from passively processing the information flow.

Boluogo heard the secret source seeming to say something to Hill, and then a strong light illuminated everything. The dim courtyard completely collapsed, as if it was swallowed up by a storm. The bricks and stones disappeared one by one, leaving only the surrounding area. The storms and the boundless ice fields are just around the corner.

After being in a daze for a long time, Boluogo came to his senses and realized that he had left Hill's memory. It was also at this time that he discovered that his alchemical matrix had undergone a round of savage growth, almost completely covering his body. Everywhere.

Boluogo stared at the storm that was gradually moving away from him. He knew that he had been recognized by the secret source. The never-ending server accepted Boluogo's promotion application and allocated more computing power to himself. Help yourself to "fulfill your wishes" and gain greater authority to distort reality.

"The defender..."

Boluogo groaned and took out the sword and ax from his waist again.

Turning his head, the shadow approached again as the storm receded. The throat of the swallowing abyss tore open the cracks in the winding path and let out a shocking roar towards him.